Haaland, prophet in his land

Boxing Day closed this Wednesday with Leeds-Manchester City, which was played later due to the EFL Cup round of 16 that Guardiola’s team played last Thursday against Liverpool. The game marked the return of Erling Haaland to Leeds, the city where he was born when his father, Alfie, played for the Yorkshire team. City began playing at a spectacular level and was able to take the lead on numerous occasions in the first half. The 0-0, however, remained until the discount, when Rodrigo took advantage of a rebound from Meslier to open the scoring. As soon as the second half began, a rude error by Robin Koch meant Haaland’s first goal, who took advantage of a gift from Jack Grealish.

The Norwegian was restrained in the celebration, aware of the special significance that Leeds United has for his family. Thirteen minutes later Haaland scored the second, again from a pass from Grealish. With the first goal, Erling surpassed the number of goals his father had in the Premier, 19 against, 18, with the exception that Alfie needed 181 games for it. The funny thing is that it wasn’t even Haaland’s best game, who wasted three clear chances, one of those that a player of his stature doesn’t usually forgive. A goal from Struijk after a corner kicked the game spicy, but that was where the comeback attempts by the locals ended. With the victory, City regains second place, while Leeds have a worse start than last year under Marcelo Bielsa.

Ligue 1

Football returned to France after the World Cup and the day left us with a nice game between PSG and Strasbourg. Mbappé and Neymar were the face and cross of the match. The Brazilian player expelled himself absurdly in just three minutes when his team was tied at one. He saw the first yellow card for a slap to a rival and shortly after an exaggerated pool in the area meant his expulsion. With one player less and tied, Galtier’s men found themselves on the ropes and there Mbappé appeared to score a penalty that gave his team the victory.

At the same time, Olympique de Lyon played, beating Stade Brest at home (2-4). It seems that the weeks of break have been good for Laurent Blanc to establish his ideas, because we were able to see a more recognizable version of his team. With the victory, Lyon continues its climb towards the top of the table. Among the rest of the matches, Monaco’s triumph against Auxerre stands out in a vibrant game (2-3) and Lille’s victory (0-2) against the modest Clermont, victories that allow both to continue in their fight for the European posts